


It Was Implied

by Etirdoyn (Nyodrite)



Series: The Stories of Shinobi [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-11-30 18:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11469195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyodrite/pseuds/Etirdoyn
Summary: “No one is ever quite ready; everyone is always caught off guard. Parenthood chooses you. And you open your eyes, look at what you've got, say "Oh, my gosh," and recognize that of all the balls there ever were, this is the one you should not drop. It's not a question of choice.”― Marisa de los Santos.In which parenthood is kind of implied when a jōnin becomes the sensei of orphaned genin.





	It Was Implied

Minato, of course, knew that his team was growing up but it was peripherally, acknowledgment in a _shinobi_ kind of way; they were growing out of their clothing so they'd need to get their under-armor refitted, longer limbs created a better range for melee weapons, chakra reserves expanding meant that more jutsu could be learnt while their bodies grew more durable with greater stamina. So, he _was_ aware of his team growing up but it didn't really register, wasn't really something he _knew_ until That Mission That Will Never Be Mentioned Again. That Mission started out fine, and conditions were that everything should have been fine and without incident.

This was not so.

Things started going bad when, after they delivered their first pack of sealed supplies to the inner-ring outpost a days run from Tanzaku Gai, Kakashi approached Rin after they had set up camp for the night and Rin asked, "Did you need something, Kakashi-kun?"

"You smell...different." the chūnin told her.

She, of course, blushed while Obito fumed silently, "Oh, um. I've been using a new soap that Kurenai recommended for me..."

"...it's smells weird." Kakashi told her bluntly, leaving after telling him, "I'll go hunt."

"Th-that- that _jerk_!" Obito sputtered before whirling towards Rin, who was now red with mortification at her crush telling her she smelt weird. "Don't listen to him! I think you smell amazing!"

That, Minato was privately amused to see, didn't help and he sent the Uchiha off to collect firewood to cook and left to check the perimeter as an excuse to allow the girl to wrestle her embarrassed mortification under _some_ semblance of control.

He returned to see that Obito had also arrived and was patiently waiting for Rin to settle the last piece of wood in the small pit she had dug before lighting the fire. The genin was, of course, praising the girl for her digging skills and her kindness of helping him with starting the fire while she gently teased that, if left to his own devices, they'd soon be faced with the entire forest on fire - to which Obito sputtered. It was this scene that Kakashi returned to, carrying two hares by their ears - for a moment, the chūnin regarded the genin before letting out a dismissive "hmph" that turned Obito both red and incoherent in rage, seating himself and setting to work on skinning the hares for consumption.

As soon as Kakashi's kunai pierced the first hare's stomach to gut the animal, Rin burst into tears that had them all frozen in shock and horror. Then Kakashi _threw_ the hare - kunai and all - away from him and out of the clearing entirely while Obito seemed torn about both shouting at Kakashi for upsetting Rin and comforting the girl, leading to useless flailing.

Minato swiftly made his way to the girl, subtly testing to see if she were under a genjutsu - which, as horrible as it may be, was something he'd have preferred to the truth - as he gently grabbed her shoulder, "Rin? What's wrong?"

"I - don't -" She heaved in great, gasping sobs, "- Kakashi - kunai - _rabbit!_ "

This, Minato would look back later, is where it all started going _wrong_.


End file.
